Some of my favorite childhood classic books included: Danny: The Champion of the World, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Matilda and The Twits for their luring creativity and silliness. I just couldn’t get enough of Roald Dahl’s stories and like many other children; I fell in love with his characters and enjoyed his books come to life on the big screen. Roald Dahl was the reason I liked to read when I was a kid, and for that he has become a huge inspiration. His books were filled with adventure, a crude sense of humor, filled with naughty children taking revenge on adult wrongdoers. By looking into his personal life and reading his autobiography, it became apparent how his relationships and experiences through life influenced his writing as an author.
When Dahl was only three years old, his seven-year-old sister, Astri, died from appendicitis and weeks later, his father died of pneumonia at the age of 57 (some say from grief) while on a fishing trip in the Antarctic. His mother eventually sent him to a boarding school for playing practical jokes and getting into trouble at the local school. This was a previous request of his father because he had wished to have their children educated in British schools, which he considered to be the worlds best. At the age of eight, he and his four friends were caned by the headmaster for putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at the local sweet shop which was owned by a "mean and loathsome" old woman, these boys were later the five characters of Roald Dahls first autobiographical book in the "Great Mouse Plot of 1924" from Boy: Tales of Childhood. Dahl was a rambunctious and mischievous child. He recalled having received six strokes of the cane after being ...
... middle of paper ...
...audience. "Children are ... highly critical. And they lose interest so quickly," he asserted in his New York Times book review interview. " You have to keep things ticking along. And if you think a child is getting bored, you must think up something that jolts it back. Something that tickles. You have to know what children like."
Works Cited
Dahl, Roald. Boy: Tales of Childhood. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1984. Print.
Dahl, Roald. Going Solo. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986.
Kimmel, Leigh Husband. "Roald Dahl." Magill’S Survey Of World Literature, Revised Edition (2009): 1-5. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 7 May 2014.
"Roald Dahl." 2014. The Biography.com website. April 25, 2014 http://www.biography.com/people/roald-dahl-9264648.
"-Roald Dahl-." Roald Dahl. N.p., Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
http://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl
In conclusion, critical evaluation of what makes a book good or bad depends on the selection criteria and agenda of those making the evaluation. The prizes have been criticised through the years and the selection committees have risen to this by changing the selection process, even if this change has been slow. Children’s Literature is in flux due to the ever-changing ideas and perceptions of childhood. Children’s books seen as prestigious today may become, like Blyton, unpalatable to the critics of tomorrow.
Martinez, Elizabeth Coonrod. "Humble creator of an iconic novel." Americas [English Edition] May-June 2009: 62+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 8 Mar. 2014.
Bibliography:.. Works Cited Meyer, M., Ed., (1999). Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
McGovern, Edythe M.. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition, January 2009, 1-1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 February 2012.
A comparison between Roald Dahl's Lamb to the slaughter and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band
2nd ed. of the book. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center -. Web.
Jokinen, Anniina. "Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. N.p., 1996. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. http://www.luminarium.org/
Both of these stories served as mile markers in the history of children's literature, and marked turning points in our Society. For the first time, children were allowed to think freely, and learn. They independently formed their own thoughts on life, God, and many of the other highly regulated aspects of their society. Until this time most of the children were taught to think as their parents or feel the wrath of vengeful and often cruel God.
Norton, D. E., & Norton. S. (2011). Through The Eyes Of a Child. An Introduction To Children’s Literature. Boston, MA, 02116: Eight-Edition Pearson Education
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology Of English Literature. 8th. A. W W Norton & Co Inc, 2006.
There was a great deal of tragedy that occurred in Dahl's family while he was growing up, and while he was a parent as well. It all began when his sister, Astri died of appendicitis in 1920. Roald's father, Harald Dahl, quickly deteriorated and died of pneumonia a few months later. Pneumonia was treatable, but only if the patient is willing and will fight to stay healthy and alive. Harald refused to fight, therefore the disease took its toll and he died. Most people believe he died of a broken heart.
John Clare’s “The Mouse’s Nest” introduces the setting of the story in the first line, “the hay.” All of the 14 lines have ten syllables; some lines are in iambic pentameter, which contains an unaccented followed by an accented stress. This consistency of the rhyme indicates the steady life of the rural life Clare presents. The “a” sound of the simple words “grass” and “hay” seems to be similar in meaning, which reflects the simplicity of life in this rural environment. The observer’s point of view seems to be close when he sees the ball of grass. But in line 2, he “passed and went away,” indicating a shift in perspective as if there is nothing going on. The assonance of “as” and “passed” highlights the observer’s ignorance, as if his focus is not on the grass ball anymore.
Novels of the 1950s such as Crucifixus Exam by Walter M. Miller, Jr. had a very complex style of writing that was almost poetic and often focused on something small with very much detail. On the other hand later writings like James Patterson’s Maximum Ride have almost all child characters who are quite relatable for anyone 10-17 years old. The writing is also very young, straightforward, and direct to the readers for a much more “kid-like” reading experie...
Roald Dahl was a famous British Writer. He was born in Llandeff, Wales on September 13th 1916. His parents, Harold and Sofie, came from Norway. He had four sisters, Astri, Affhild, Else and Astra, His father died when Roald was only four years old. Roald attended Repton, a private school in Derbyshire. He did not enjoy his school years, “I was appalled by the fact that masters and senior boys were allowed, literally, to wound other boys and sometimes quite severely. I couldn’t get over it. I never got over it…” These experiences inspired him to write stories in which children fight against cruel adults and authorities.